Marang River Skeleton MTG Card

Marang River Skeleton - Dragons of Tarkir

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	2
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Creature — Skeleton
Abilities	Megamorph
Released	2015-03-27
Set symbol
Set name	Dragons of Tarkir
Set code	DTK
Power	1
Toughness	1
Number	108
Frame	2015
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Jack Wang

Key Takeaways

Offers persistent board presence with its instant speed regeneration and self-recurring nature.
Requires careful hand and mana management due to discard and specific mana costs when regenerating.
Standout for its synergy with graveyard mechanics, bolstering strength within certain strategies.

Text of card

: Regenerate Marang River Skeleton. Megamorph (You may cast this card face down as a 2/2 creature for . Turn it face up any time for its megamorph cost and put a +1/+1 counter on it.)

The gurgling of the Marang conceals both footsteps and screams.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Marang River Skeleton offers consistent card advantage through its built-in recursion ability. It can be returned from the graveyard to the battlefield, ensuring that you have a creature to play every turn if needed, which keeps your hand from depleting quickly.

Resource Acceleration: While not directly providing mana, the Skeleton synergizes with delve and other mechanics that benefit from having cards in the graveyard. This capacity to self-replenish can accelerate resource utilization by effectively allowing other graveyard-dependent cards to be played with an effective cost reduction.

Instant Speed: One of the key strengths of Marang River Skeleton is its ability to regenerate at instant speed. This means that if it’s destroyed during combat or by an opponent’s spell, you can immediately bring it back without waiting for your next turn, thereby maintaining board presence and potentially disrupting your opponent’s strategies.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Marang River Skeleton offers a recurring threat, its ability to regenerate comes at the cost of discarding a card. This can deplete your hand, making it harder to respond to an opponent’s moves or diluting your strategy.

Specific Mana Cost: Reanimating Marang River Skeleton requires a specific combination of black mana, limiting its seamless inclusion in multi-color decks. This can impact the card’s versatility and the overall fluidity of your mana base.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Bringing Marang River Skeleton back from the graveyard requires a considerable investment of four mana. In a game where mana efficiency can dictate the pace and outcome, this cost is significant, especially when other cards could provide greater utility or impact for the same or lower mana investment.

Reasons to Include Marang River Skeleton in Your Collection

Versatility: Marang River Skeleton brings a reliable level of adaptability to your deck. Its ability to regenerate provides a persistent threat that can sustain pressure on your opponent throughout the game, making it suitable for decks that thrive on tenacity and resilience.

Combo Potential: This card shines in combos, particularly within graveyard-focused strategies. Its self-recurring nature synergizes well with mechanics like delve or various graveyard-triggered abilities, offering endless opportunities for strategic plays and interactions.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where board wipes and removal are prevalent, the Marang River Skeleton holds its ground. Its capacity to come back from the graveyard ensures that you maintain board presence, making it a valuable asset in attrition battles often seen in the current meta.

How to beat

Overcoming Marang River Skeleton in MTG requires strategic planning and efficient use of removal spells. This persistent creature has the ability to regenerate, allowing it to return to the battlefield even after being destroyed. Therefore, direct damage or destruction effects might not be sufficient. Instead, exile-based removal spells like Path to Exile or exile-trigger enchantments such as Banishing Light can permanently address the threat it poses.

Another effective strategy is to leverage spells that force the opponent to sacrifice creatures. Since the Marang River Skeleton’s ability doesn’t protect against sacrifice effects, cards like Diabolic Edict provide a way around its regeneration. Moreover, controlling the pace of the game by applying pressure early on can also limit the feasibility for your opponent to invest mana into bringing it back each turn. Keep in mind to play around its megamorph cost, which could bring the Skeleton back with a power boost. By maintaining a board presence and managing your removal wisely, you can ensure that this resilient creature doesn’t dampen your path to victory.

Ultimately, when faced with the Marang River Skeleton, understanding the strengths and limitations of your cards and removal options is key to turning the tide of the match in your favor within MTG’s dynamic gameplay.

Cards like Marang River Skeleton

Marang River Skeleton scales well within the flexible creatures of Magic: The Gathering. This card is a kin to cards like Reassembling Skeleton, which shares the ability to return from the graveyard to the battlefield. Nonetheless, Marang River Skeleton breaks the mold with its bolster capability, giving it the potential for increased power and toughness. Unlike its counterpart, which can recur consistently at a fixed rate, Marang River Skeleton’s strength lies in its adaptability depending on the gameplay situation.

Another relative within the reanimation theme is Bloodsoaked Champion. It also possesses the tenacity to rise from the discard pile, fueling aggressive strategies. However, it operates without the incremental growth offered by bolster. With Marang River Skeleton, players get the chance to craft a more assertive board presence over time. Finally, Sanitarium Skeleton merits mention, embracing a form of resilience with its returning ability, although it lacks the self-boosting prowess found in Marang River Skeleton.

In essence, Marang River Skeleton holds its own among similar cards of MTG, deftly combining regeneration with gradual enhancement. It’s this dual aspect that allows it to shine in certain deck builds that value durability and growth.

Reassembling Skeleton - MTG Card versions

Bloodsoaked Champion - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Marang River Skeleton by color, type and mana cost

Order of the Ebon Hand - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Marang River Skeleton MTG card by a specific set like Dragons of Tarkir, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.

For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.

Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.

Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Marang River Skeleton and other MTG cards:

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Marang River Skeleton has restrictions

Format	Legality
Commander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Paupercommander	Restricted
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Penny	Legal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Marang River Skeleton card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

Date	Text
2015-02-25	If a face-down creature with megamorph is turned face up some other way (for example, if you manifest a card with megamorph and then pay its mana cost to turn it face up), you won’t put a +1/+1 counter on it.
2015-02-25	Megamorph is a variant of the morph ability. You can find more information on morph on cards with morph from the Khans of Tarkir set.
2015-02-25	Turning a face-down creature with megamorph face up and putting a +1/+1 counter on it is a special action. It doesn’t use the stack and can’t be responded to.